What's happening to my CV?

I just did some maintenance on my transfer case and I was looking around and saw that my end link had snapped and there was grease on the lower control arm originating from the CV axle boot.

This is super bad because I have to drive 1000 miles by the end of this week.

Is this grease coming from my CV axle? The boot doesn't look torn it appears to be coming from the end of the boot. What caused this?

I don't do any hard wheeling. I know I can rebuild the original cv axle, but is that something I have to send it off to have done?

And can I drive around with this to get parts without fubar my cv axle?

 

It's hard to see in the picture, is the metal clamp mounted here?
Looks to me as if it is missing.
And at the outer boot too?

 

Example how it should look with the metal clamps.

 

+1, if the clamps are missing you should be able to slide the boot off, re-grease and re clamp. The biggest challenge will be they are probably hardened up from age and if you rip one you are taking the axle out anyway (at which point I’d just replace).

If it’s not making any strange noises after that you are probably OK.

Oh and replace the sway bar end link of course.

 

Your sway bar end link broke and sway bar is tearing up the CV boot

 

Good eye! I hadn't noticed that

 

Yeah, kinda looks like the outer boot inner clamp looks to be hanging loose, right underneath the sway bar end.

The car care nut has a good video on re-booting factory cv axles. He says OE axles are worth saving if they aren’t damaged, because aftermarket cv axles tend to suck in comparison.

 

I tried removing the end link bu

I plan to reboot them. This puts me in a bad position.

I want to replace my lower ball joints, brake lines, and service the cv axle at home in California. But I have to get there from Washington.

So I'm trying to decide whether I can make it home on whatever grease is still in there now that I put a new clamp on or whether I should put the cheap after market cv axle I ordered.

It was the outer boot clamp that came off. Today I replaced the end link that snapped with a Napa one. The Napa end links are thicker than the oem one.

 

you could install the aftermarket one to prevent possible damage on the oe axle for your trip.

Then you can take your sweet time ordering new oe boots and the special grease. When they’re ready to reinstall, keep the aftermarket for a trail spare.